The Book of Ruth
in Eerdmans Classic Biblical Commentaries
Pages
331
Publisher
Eerdmans
Published
3/24/2023
ISBN-13
978-0-8028-8331-5
An award-winning commentary on the book of Ruth by a renowned scholar of the Old Testament
Winner of the 1989 Best Commentary Book Award from Christianity Today, Robert L. Hubbard Jr.’s The Book of Ruth has helped scholars, students, and pastors interpret one of the most beloved books of the Bible for decades. The classic commentary, now available in paperback, remains one of the best explications of the story of Ruth and Naomi and its relevance to Christians today.
In his introduction Hubbard discusses the issues of text, canonicity, literary criticism, authorship, date, purpose, setting, genre, legal background, themes, and theology, concluding with an outline of the book and a thorough bibliography. The commentary proper is based on Hubbard’s own translation and is annotated by footnotes on textual, philological, and literary matters.
Gleaning the best from respected contemporary research on Ruth, Hubbard rigorously treats the book’s rich literary, grammatical, and theological dimensions. He allows for the possibility that the anonymous author was a woman and argues that the narrative itself aims to counter opposition to the Davidic monarchy in Israel and Judah during Solomon’s reign. Throughout, Hubbard’s sensitivity to the literary qualities of the text and his coherent explication of its theological themes make this volume an invaluable tool for anyone desiring to explore the intriguing story of Ruth in depth.
Winner of the 1989 Best Commentary Book Award from Christianity Today, Robert L. Hubbard Jr.’s The Book of Ruth has helped scholars, students, and pastors interpret one of the most beloved books of the Bible for decades. The classic commentary, now available in paperback, remains one of the best explications of the story of Ruth and Naomi and its relevance to Christians today.
In his introduction Hubbard discusses the issues of text, canonicity, literary criticism, authorship, date, purpose, setting, genre, legal background, themes, and theology, concluding with an outline of the book and a thorough bibliography. The commentary proper is based on Hubbard’s own translation and is annotated by footnotes on textual, philological, and literary matters.
Gleaning the best from respected contemporary research on Ruth, Hubbard rigorously treats the book’s rich literary, grammatical, and theological dimensions. He allows for the possibility that the anonymous author was a woman and argues that the narrative itself aims to counter opposition to the Davidic monarchy in Israel and Judah during Solomon’s reign. Throughout, Hubbard’s sensitivity to the literary qualities of the text and his coherent explication of its theological themes make this volume an invaluable tool for anyone desiring to explore the intriguing story of Ruth in depth.
Collections
This book appears in the following featured collections.
- TGC: Preaching Commentaries by The Gospel Coalition
Reviews
The Gospel Coalition
June 1, 2024
June 1, 2024
Volume was previously published as part of the NICOT series. Mathison says, “Robert Hubbard’s commentary on Ruth is a model of how commentaries should be written. It is careful and clear. It manages to deal with both details and the big picture. This is the first commentary to which one should turn with questions about the book of Ruth. Very highly recommended.”
[Full Review]